Selective Laser Sintering of Bioceramic Materials for Implants

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process is employed for fabrication of biocerarnics for orthopedic implants. Hydroxyapatite and Calcium Phosphate ceramics are coated with polymer as a intermediate binder by using a spray drier. Polymer coated materials are SLS processed to make green parts, which are infiltrated and fired to remove the polymer. SLS processed green parts of hydroxyapatite have low density due to the small particle size with large specific surface area. This paper discusses the possibilities and problems in free-form fabrication of bioceramic.Mechanical Engineerin

Personalised Learning Spaces and Self-Regulated Learning :Global examples of Effective Pedagogy

Recent educational research attests to an increasing awareness of the need to encourage learner control over the entire learning process. Web 2.0 and social software tools are capable of supporting informal conversation, dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide raft of ideas and representations. Used appropriately, they can shift control to the learner by promoting agency, autonomy and engagement in social networks that straddle multiple real and virtual learning spaces independent of physical, geographic, institutional and organisational boundaries. However, in order for selfregulated learning to come to fruition, students need not only to be able to choose and personalise what tools and content are available, but also to have access to appropriate scaffolding to support their learning. Emerging practices with social software, examples of which are showcased in this paper, signal the need for pedagogies that are more social, personal and participatory. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for practice, including current challenges faced by tertiary educators

Numerical study on run-up heights of solitary wave with hydrodynamic pressure model

For many shallow water flows, it is sufficient to consider the depth-averaged equations, referred as the shallow water equations, which are two-dimensional in the horizontal plane, since the length scale of the vertical direction is much smaller than that of the horizontal directions. Assuming that the pressure distribution is hydrostatic, the mathematical formulation and its numerical implementation are considerably simplified. In this study, a numerical model is newly developed to investigate various free surface fl ow problems. The governing equations are the Navier???Stokes equations with the pressure decomposed into the sum of a hydrostatic and a hydrodynamic components. The equation for the free surface movement is a depth???averaged continuity equation which is a free surface equation. These governing equations are simultaneously solved by using a finite difference method with a semi???implicit method and fractional step method. At the first step, the vertical momentum equations are discretized by using an implicit method over the vertical direction. In the second step, the discrete horizontal momentum equations are projected on to the free surface equation. Finally, the hydrodynamic pressure and final velocity field are calculated. To verify the accuracy and stability, the present numerical model is applied to move practical problems such as the run???up process of solitary waves attacking a circular island. The numerically obtained maximum run???up heights around a circular island are compared with available laboratory measurements. A very reasonable agreement is observed

Frequency Domain Simulations of Charge-Density-Wave Strains: Comparison with Electro-Optic Measurements

We have studied changes in charge-density-wave strain under application of square-wave currents of variable amplitude and frequency by numerically solving the phase-slip augmented diffusion model introduced by Adelman et al (Phys. Rev. B 53, 1833 (1996)). The frequency dependence of the strain, at each position and amplitude, was fit to a modified harmonic oscillator expression, and the position and current dependence of the fitting parameters determined. In particular, the delay time (1/resonant frequency) vanishes adjacent to the contact and grows with distance from the contact, and both the delay time and relaxation time decrease rapidly with increasing current (and phase-slip rate), as experimentally observed in the electro-optic response of blue bronze. We have also found that pinning the phase at the contacts causes more rapid changes in strain between the contacts than allowing the phase to flow outside the contacts.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Biocompatibility of SLS-Formed Calcium Phosphate Implants

A method for fabricating artificial calcium phosphate bone implants by the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process has been developed that can fabricate complex and delicate calcium phosphate bone facsimiles from a variety of data inputs including Computed Tomography(CT) files (1). This paper discusses two in vivo biocompatibility studies of SLS-formed calcium phosphate implants in both rabbits and dogs. Histologic analysis shows a high degree of biocompatibility and bone ingrowth in both studies.Mechanical Engineerin

The complete chloroplast genome of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and comparative analysis within the family poaceae

The complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.), an important grain and forage crop in the family Poaceae, is reported in this study. The complete cp genome sequence of P. glaucum is 138,172 bp in length with 38.6% overall GC content and exhibits a typical quadripartite structure comprising one pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (22,275 bp) separated by a small single-copy (SSC) region (12,409 bp) and a large single-copy (LSC) region (81,213). The P. glaucum cp genome encodes 110 unique genes, 76 of which are protein-coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 30 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes and 18 duplicated genes in the IR region. Nine genes contain one or two introns. Whole genome alignments of cp genome were performed for genome-wide comparison. Locally collinear blocks (LCBs) identified among the cp genomes showed that they were well conserved with respect to gene organization and order. This newly determined cp genome sequence of P. glaucum will provide valuable information for the future breeding programs of valuable cereal crops in the family Poaceae

Sedimentary and structural evolution of a relict subglacial to subaerial drainage system and its hydrogeological implications: an example from Anglesey, north Wales, UK

Subglacial drainage systems exert a major control on basal-sliding rates and glacier dynamics. However, comparatively few studies have examined the sedimentary record of subglacial drainage. This is due to the paucity of modern analogues, the limited recognition and preservation of upper flow regime deposits within the geological record, and the difficulty of distinguishing subglacial meltwater deposits from other meltwater sediments (e.g. glacier outburst flood deposits). Within this study, the sedimentological and structural evolution of a subglacial to subaerial (ice-marginal/proglacial) drainage system is examined. Particular emphasis is placed upon the genetic development and preservation of upper flow regime bedforms and specifically recognising them within a subglacial meltwater context. Facies are attributed to subglacial meltwater activity and record sedimentation within a confined, but progressively enlargening, subglacial channel system produced under dune to upper flow regime conditions. Bedforms include rare large-scale sinusoidal bedding with syn-depositional deformation produced by current-induced traction and shearing within the channel margins. Subglacial sedimentation culminated with the abrupt change to a more ephemeral drainage regime indicating channel-abandonment or a seasonal drainage regime. Retreat of the ice margin, led to the establishment of subaerial drainage with phases of sheet-flow punctuated by channel incision and anastomosing channel development under diurnal, ablation-related, seasonal discharge. The presence of extensive hydrofracture networks demonstrate that proglacial groundwater-levels fluctuated markedly and this may have influenced later overriding of the site by an ice stream